1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing technique of applying image processing to a scanned image.
2. Description of the Background Art
There exists a technique of adding appropriate information and the like to a print surface of a print output and printing the resultant when an original is printed out.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-16689, there has been described a technique of converting inputted data to a bar-code pattern image (merely referred to as a bar-code pattern) to synthesize an original image and the bar-code pattern and output the resultant. In other words, a technique of generating a print output in which digital information is embedded as a bar-code pattern is described.
Generally, in a copy apparatus, in many cases, an overall scanned image is subjected to image correction processing and the scanned image after the image correction processing is printed out as a copied image. As such image correction processing, for example, processing aimed to prevent moire occurrence, specifically, smoothing processing, edge enhancement processing and the like are applied.
Here, suppose that a print output with digital information embedded by the above-described technique is copied by a copy apparatus. In such a situation, the image correction processing such as smoothing processing may be executed to a scanned image relating to the print output.
However, when the above-described smoothing processing and the like are applied to the scanned image in the image correction processing at the time of copy, a bar-code pattern inside the scanned image is printed out in a deteriorated state due to the smoothing processing and the like. Therefore, when the print output in copy operation (i.e., copy output) is further copied, a reading ratio of the digital information inside the bar-code pattern is decreased. That is, the reading ratio of the digital information at the time of copy in succeeding generations is decreased.